LIFT ALL OF THE THINGS!

During the holidays, which spanned most of halloween through epiphany, I ate everything I could find.  I went down to Mexico and there was no way I wasn't going to fill up on quesadillas, tacos and tamales, or have chocolate at christmas, or wine at new years... yeah.  The weird thing is that I got to the point where I no longer felt going in and out of keto.

Of course, all this food brought along its friends who bullied me into getting serious into exercise.  I started January 9 with the Stronglifts 5x5 program and, while I am still neurotic every day that I am fluffy and keep gaining weight, Dan keeps reminding me that I AM getting much stronger, my form is epically better, and I'm even seeing an improvement in my skating after having taken december off.

When I started with derby 2.5 years ago, I was 185 lbs.  In the first few months of keto I dropped to 165, with an all time low of 145 for a very short time.  I have been stable mostly between 150-155, but went up to 160 while away.  After a few days of strict keto, I got back to the low 150's, but back up to 160 with the month of lifting.

And now I decided to go off keto and have gone up to 165 this wonderful week of Carnaval.  I've been playing with the idea of trying Paleo, but really can't find the logic to it.  The lines are too tenuous and shifting, and Paleo means so many different things to people.  Someone shared this post on the Seven Shades Of Paleo and it started to gel with me.

So, in theory, I plan on trying this Paleo thing (Lent?) but follow the more basal definition of it.  I want to avoid eating (to a certain degree) over-processed foods in favor of more natural foods.  Have I told you how much I had missed fruit?  I have been eating the everloving shit out of it the past week!  And milk.  Damn, did I miss milk.  But yeah, less processed foods.  Steel cut oats instead of rolled oats or other chemically processed cereals.  Milk, fruit, meat, veggies.  

Another thing that I'm having trouble with is completely changing my appetite.  Yes, I'm craving fruit and milk, but I'm also still craving ALL OF THE CHEESE and meat and cream, but now it really disagrees with me, especially if it follows or is combined by some large source of carbs.  This is something I need to work on.  I need to find a balance where I'm not constantly starving or stuck to the toilet.

Now, for something more interesting:  data!

Jan 11 > Feb 12

Squat 5x5 @ 65 lbs > 110

Bench press 5x5 @ 45 lbs > 60

Deadlift 1x5 @ 135 lbs > 175

Barbell Row 5x5 @ 65 lbs > 70

Standing Dumbell Press 5x5 @ 30 lbs > Standing Plate Press 2x5 @ 45 + 3x5 @ 35 lbs

Chest 37" > 38"
Arms 10" > 10.75"
Hips 37.75 > 36"
Waist 33" > 32.5"
Thighs 20" > 20.75"
Calves 14.25" > 15.75"
Forearms 8" > 9"
Shoulders 41" > 42"
Neck 12" > 13.5"

(PS:  I'm on bodybuilding.com and MyFitnessPal for anybody willing to harass me)